title: Highly sensitive SERS quantification of the oncogenic protein c-Jun in cellular extracts.
abstract: A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based sensor was developed for the detection of the oncoprotein c-Jun at nanomolar levels. c-Jun is a member of the bZIP (basic zipper) family of dimeric transcriptional activators, and its overexpression has been associated with carcinogenic mechanisms in several human cancers. For our sensing purpose, we exploited the ability of c-Jun to heterodimerize with its native protein partner, c-Fos, and therefore designed a c-Fos peptide receptor chemically modified to incorporate a thiophenol (TP) group at the N-terminal site. The TP functionality anchors the c-Fos protein onto the metal substrate and works as an effective SERS probe to sense the structural rearrangements associated with the c-Fos/c-Jun heterodimerization.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ingenieria Electronica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avda. Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guerrini
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pazos
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Penas
authors.forename: M Eugenio
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Vázquez
authors.forename: Jose Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Mascareñas
authors.forename: Ramon A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Alvarez-Puebla
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000032:analysis; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / Q000032:analysis*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D010636:Phenols; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; C042983:thiophenol